I must admit I had to take a few seconds to consider this, but on reflection I’ve not come across many firms that are even remotely close to looking desperate. Time and again research has shown that firms are sometimes closer to indifference than desperation.*

My business is about generating new work for solicitors and there are plenty of ways I can do this, but making sure you have a robust enquiry handling process in place is critical if you want to maximise your return from marketing.

Start measuring. Number of enquiries and conversion by work type and source is the minimum needed and should be part of the key performance measures discussed at Partner level and disseminated to all staff.

Mystery shopping. Find out how you make clients feel (not what you do) when they interact with your business. Make it a regular activity and again make sure everyone sees the results.

Training. Get the right people handling enquiries and watch your conversion rate increase overnight. Invest in regular training to develop these skills and demonstrate your commitment to improving client service.

Accreditation. Bring customer service to heart of your business and consider working towards an official accreditation such as the Customer Service Excellence standard. Firms often say referrals are one the main sources of business - raise your client service to ‘outstanding’ and your referrals will rocket.